Recipe: Siong Tong Lala 上湯啦啦 (Clams in Superior Soup)

 Siong tong lala 上湯啦啦 can commonly be found in Chinese dai chow (homestyle cooking) restaurants. We will not hesitate in ordering this if it's available on the menu - my son especially, loves this dish! That's how he got his nickname "Lala King".... he could easily devour a whole plate of lala, if you let him.

Siong tong la la usually comprises la la clams cooked in a superior stock with Chinese rice wine, dong quai (Angelica sinensis), cili padi, and goji berries. When we make it at home, we usually use Japanese asari clams which are really similar and more accessible (you can usually find this in frozen sections of the supermarket). I find them cleaner and less gritty too. You will first need to soak them in salted water and rinse several times to remove any excess grit.. it's no fun biting into grit when you're enjoying your dinner.

To make the stock, I use chicken stock, simmered with garlic, ginger and a generous dash of ginger wine. I love the herbal taste of the siong tong la la in restaurants, so adding dong quai is a must. Don't forget the cili padi too, for a nice, subtle heat. Once the stock is ready, it's just a matter of minutes for the clams to be cooked.  The good thing about making this at home is that we can supersize the portion and it will still cost significantly less than ordering it in the restaurants. So good!

Watch the step-by-step YouTube video here: 

You can buy dang gui here: https://shope.ee/9K4Hg50hjU

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Siong tong la la (Clams in superior soup)
Recipe by Baby Sumo

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

500g asari or lala clams

2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4cm ginger, julienned

1 tbsp cooking oil

2 slices dang gui / dong quai (Angelica sinensis)

2-3 red cili padi, chopped

500ml chicken stock

2 tbsp ginger wine

1 tbsp goji berries

Spring onions, to garnish

1. Soak clams in a bowl of salted tap water for 10 minutes, then rinse. Repeat at least 3 times, to remove any sand and grit. Drain and set aside.

2. In a wok, heat cooking oil over medium high heat.  Then, add ginger and garlic and stir fry for 2-3 minutes, until lightly golden and fragrant. Add the chicken stock, cili padi, goji berries, Shaoxing wine and dong quai, and simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Taste, and season with salt if necessary. If you're happy with the taste, then add the clams, cover, and cook for 2 minutes. Stir once, then cook for a further 1-2 minutes.

4. Serve immediately with rice. 

Note:

1. If using frozen asari clams, defrost at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, before doing Step 1. 1kg of frozen clams will yield 500g clams after defrosting.

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